Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Julianne Guida
鈥淚 think the biggest lesson I learned in graduate school was that growing and learning never stops in this profession,鈥 shared Dr. Julianne Guida, a 2022 graduate of the 91精品鈥檚 Clinical Psychology program. 鈥淭here are always new challenges, new learning opportunities, new ways of growing and that鈥檚 why I love this work - it's ever-changing and dynamic in a way I find so fascinating."
Dr. Guida grew up in Santa Monica, California with her parents and her two sisters - one ten years older than her and the other eight years younger. Her youngest sister was born when Dr. Guida鈥檚 mother was forty-nine years old, which was a surprising and stressful experience for the whole family. 鈥淚t was an intense period of time in our family because my mom had to go on bed rest for seven or eight weeks during the pregnancy, then my sister was born almost two months premature,鈥 she recalled. 鈥淚 remember announcing to my second grade class that my little sister was born and she was a miracle child.鈥 The three sisters grew up in the Santa Monica Canyon and spent most of their time outside, running in the creek, going to the park, and playing at the beach.
Inspired by her older sister, who was already working as a psychologist, Dr. Guida decided to pursue a degree in psychology. 鈥淢y mom was a nurse and my dad was a part-time life coach, business owner, and also ran a support group for men, so I was primed to enter the helping field in some capacity,鈥 she reflected. 鈥淓ven in high school, I knew I wanted to study psychology or sociology because I was really fascinated by people and how they work.鈥 For her undergraduate studies, Dr. Guida attended the , which she described as a fantastic experience. 鈥淚 loved going to UC Santa Cruz and being in the Redwoods,鈥 she recalled. 鈥淚t was different enough from LA and the culture aligned more with my values, so I鈥檝e pretty much been in the Bay Area ever since.鈥 In 2014, Dr. Guida graduated with her BA in Psychology, but she knew, based on her older sister鈥檚 experience, that she would need to continue on to graduate school soon.
After graduating from UC Santa Cruz a year early, Dr. Guida worked at as a Behavioral Intervention Implementation Aide for a year. In this role, she assisted two fourth grade students with autism and other learning needs by working with them one-on-one in their classrooms. Dr. Guida really enjoyed getting to work so closely with these students, learning from them, and helping to prioritize their needs. 鈥淚 would say that the most challenging part of the experience was having to navigate the limitations of the public school system and the limited resources that were available,鈥 she explained. 鈥淚 think I was just experiencing a fragment of the overwhelm the kids had to deal with. I had to figure out how to best address my students' needs while navigating a dynamic school system which was not totally set up for supporting learning and developmental differences.鈥 Despite the challenges, Dr. Guida enjoyed the work and was inspired by the students, teachers, and specialists she worked with there.
From 2015-2016, Dr. Guida worked as an English as a Second Language teacher at in Bangkok, Thailand. 鈥淎s a high school graduation gift, my older sister took me on my first international trip to Tokyo, Bali, and Northern Australia and my mind was blown,鈥 she reflected. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe how incredible it was to go to these different places across the world and how beautiful it was experiencing different cultures and ways of being.鈥 That trip was the beginning of Julianne鈥檚 passion for seeking out ways to travel and live internationally. After studying abroad in Copenhagen for a semester during college, Dr. Guida decided to pursue teaching English for a year in Thailand. 鈥淚 learned so much from my students because I was teaching folks from across the world from age five to seventy in an one-on-one tutoring style,鈥 she explained. 鈥淔or the most advanced students, our lessons consisted of conversing about our lives so I got to know them rather intimately and I really enjoyed building those relationships.鈥 Dr. Guida traveled a lot within Southeast Asia during her time there and would love to return one day.
The following year, Dr. Guida began positions as a Direct Support Specialist at and as an Academic Manager at , both in Los Angeles, CA. At Franklin Educational Services, she worked as a tutor for students with learning differences and at FACT Family, she worked with young adults with disabilities at a community college. Her primary approach to working with her students and clients in these roles was focusing on building relationships. 鈥淚 tried my best to meet them where they were and build their confidence in themselves and their abilities and improve their self-esteem,鈥 she recalled. 鈥淚 felt like that was so much more important than merely implementing behavior modification or specific interventions.鈥
Dr. Guida enrolled in the 91精品鈥檚 Clinical Psychology program in the fall of 2017. She examined the pros and cons of getting a master鈥檚 degree versus a doctoral degree and decided a doctoral program was the best fit for her. 鈥淚t felt like two years wasn't quite enough time to get the in-depth learning experience that I was really looking for,鈥 she reflected. 鈥淚 felt like I needed a little bit more time and training.鈥 Dr. Guida applied to several programs, but what really sold her on the 91精品 was their mission of 鈥渃linicians to society鈥 and her experience at their open house. 鈥淚t was so different and human-centered - it felt so authentic and inspiring,鈥 she shared. 鈥淚 got chills hearing Dr. Thompson and Dr. Kim and other professors talk about their experiences, what the program was like, and why they were there.鈥 The next morning, she found herself wanting to go back to the 91精品 and continue the conversations she had at the open house, so her choice was clear.
During her first and second years, Dr. Guida鈥檚 practicum placements were at the 91精品鈥檚 Berkeley CBT Clinic, Assessment Clinic, and Psychodynamic Clinic, where she was able to learn a lot about a variety of theoretical orientations. 鈥淎t the CBT Clinic, I got wonderful training in DBT and ACT, which I ended up gravitating towards,鈥 she recalled. 鈥淚t was great to learn and try with the support of my supervisor.鈥 At the Psychodynamic Clinic, she was able to dig into more psychodynamic relational work and explore the importance of building relationships with clients and integrating different tools and interventions. 鈥淚 really learned the importance of group consultation and group supervision and how essential it is to have the support of fellow therapists because each individual cannot see everything,鈥 she reflected. 鈥淭here are going to be dynamics that are playing out, aspects or qualities of cases that you're just not privy to or not receptive to, so having that group consultative space to point out these things was so invaluable.鈥 Years later, that lesson is still fresh in Dr. Guida鈥檚 mind and she still participates in group consultations to support her work in private practice.
For her third year practicum, Dr. Guida worked at The Women鈥檚 Therapy Center in Berkeley, CA as a Therapist Trainee. She really enjoyed the diverse range of clients and was excited to work with couples for the first time. The organization placed an emphasis on accountability when working with diverse populations and provided lots of training to practicum students. 鈥淚 was part of a white privilege accountability group and several other spaces designed to challenge my biases and internalized stigmas, explore how they show up in the room with clients, and how to take accountability,鈥 Dr. Guida explained. 鈥淚 think it really helped support my growth as a clinician and taught me to be more aware and humble.鈥
When it came time to decide on a topic for her dissertation, Dr. Guida decided to follow her interest in contemporary psychoanalysis. She was inspired by the work of Bion and Ogden, particularly their focus on the relationship between the therapist and the client and all of the unconscious processes involved in that interaction. She was very curious about moments during her practicum experiences where she felt an intuition about her client and decided to explore that through her dissertation, which she titled 鈥淭herapists Use of Clinical Intuition: A Study Across Theoretical Orientations and Cultural Identities.鈥 She sought to define intuition and explore the factors that led clinicians to follow or suppress their intuition by interviewing therapists and completing a qualitative analysis, which she found to be fascinating work.
Dr. Guida completed her internship at in Anchorage, Alaska. 鈥淚 was very moved while watching their introductory video because I was so inspired, not just by the landscape of Alaska, but also by their mission of supporting the indigenous Alaskan folks,鈥 she recalled. 鈥淚t was an amazing opportunity to learn, adventure, and explore!鈥 At Providence Family Medicine Center, Dr. Guida completed rotations in Depression Management, Medical Assisted Therapy for Substance Use, Reproductive Health, and Human Health Services for Refugees and Asylum Seekers. 鈥淚 got such a range of experience in working with so many people and learned so much,鈥 she shared, 鈥渂ut I felt frustrated by the lack of access to care for certain folks and the many systemic barriers that my patients had to navigate, so I found myself really trying to advocate on their behalf.鈥 Throughout this process, she saw firsthand the limitations of our medical healthcare systems, just as she had experienced before in community mental health and the public school system.
Thinking back to her time at the 91精品, Dr. Guida feels that the most challenging aspect of the program was that it pushed students to break down inherent biases and assumptions, both externally and internally, in order to rebuild from a place of openness to new learnings and ways of being. 鈥淚t was really uncomfortable and anxiety-provoking for me and brought up all sorts of things I was not expecting, but I'm so immensely grateful because I feel so much stronger and such a better person for it,鈥 she reflected. 鈥淚 really came out of the program feeling changed - not that I鈥檓 not myself anymore, just more integrated and aware.鈥 She also felt that this experience built up her self-confidence and prepared her for her future career. Dr. Guida is grateful for the connections she made with friends and the community as a whole, who supported her during her time as a student. 鈥淭he friends I made through the 91精品, I consider family and I鈥檓 still so close with to this day,鈥 she shared proudly. 鈥淭heir support was pivotal to my success in completing the program.鈥
After graduating from the 91精品 in 2022, Dr. Guida completed her post-doc at a group practice called in Marin, CA. She chose this placement because she was interested in getting more experience working in a private group practice and was eager to return to the Bay Area. As an added bonus, she was delighted to find that her best friend was placed there as well. 鈥淚 wanted to learn more about running a private practice, having to get referrals, and dealing with private pay,鈥 she explained. 鈥淚 learned so much about how to run a business that I hadn鈥檛 learned in graduate school and I鈥檓 really grateful for the experience.鈥 This role also gave Dr. Guida the opportunity to work with children and explore play-based therapies, which she hadn鈥檛 done much of in the past, in addition to working with teens and adults.
In 2024, Dr. Guida started her own in Marin, CA, primarily working with teens and adults. In her practice, she focuses on in-depth, long-term work with clients experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, and relationship issues, among other things. 鈥淲hen you have your own private practice, the success or failure of it is really up to you,鈥 she shared. 鈥淭here's something that's obviously very freeing and empowering about that, but also very vulnerable because you have to create your own systems and ways of working when running a small business.鈥 Dr. Guida is grateful to her community for believing in her as she began her practice and to the consult group whom she meets with regularly for advice and support with clients. She continues to feel deeply fulfilled and inspired by the work.
In addition to her private practice, Dr. Guida has chosen to stay involved with the 91精品 as part of the Internship Support team and as a supervisor at the WI Older Adults Clinic. 鈥淚鈥檝e always enjoyed teaching and mentoring and private practice can be isolating,鈥 she explained. 鈥淚 think there was a part of me that wanted to get involved in other settings to have that extra support and use a different part of my brain.鈥 Dr. Guida has loved supporting students as they go through the intense process of applying for an internship, helping them figure out what their priorities are, working on their essays, and witnessing their excitement when they get matched. She has found her work as a supervisor at the WI Older Adults clinic to be fascinating as well. 鈥淪upervision is a new role for me that I didn鈥檛 think I was going to love so much,鈥 she reflected. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way to give back to the next generation of psychologists as well.鈥
In her limited free time, Dr. Guida loves spending time outdoors, going on adventures with her partner, their border collie, and friends. 鈥淭here are some people who find one hobby that they invest in and get really good at,鈥 she laughed. 鈥淚鈥檓 not that way - I love to do so many things outdoors such as hiking, running, rock climbing, camping, snowboarding, surfing, mountain biking, longboarding, and paddle boarding.鈥 She loves living in the Bay Area with access to all of these amazing outdoor activities, which she finds help her stay grounded. 鈥淧rioritizing spaces where I can foster an environment of play and spontaneity feels very important to me,鈥 she explained. 鈥淧lay is an important part of this work and it helps me regulate and feel connected.鈥 While she鈥檚 done a lot of local travel in recent years, Dr. Guida is excited to travel internationally again this summer when she will attend the International Psychoanalytic Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.
In the next five or ten years, Dr. Guida would like to hire a psych associate to work with her so that she can continue supervising and growing. 鈥淚鈥檇 love to join forces with a colleague or two and offer a psychoanalytically oriented postdoc experience to merge teaching with supervising,鈥 she shared. 鈥淚鈥檝e also thought about teaching as well eventually.鈥 Dr. Guida is excited for what the future holds for her and is eager to explore all of the opportunities that life has to offer.